"New collaborative care models identify pharmacists as important contributors to the healthcare team. Enhanced training equips pharmacists with the necessary skills to provide a variety of preventive care and wellness services–increasing access to care for patients. For public health, incorporating pharmacists in team-based care increases patient awareness of the importance of medication adherence and further encourages and supports behavior change and self-management of many chronic illnesses and diseases.”
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Strategy
The goal of TPA’s Provider initiative is to elevate Texas pharmacists’ role in the healthcare arena, and long-term to have additional sources of revenue. In order to accomplish that, TPA is proposing a three-part approach to the Texas Legislature:

• Recognition
• Better Utilization of Pharmacists
• Payment

Along with the Texas Legislature, lobbying efforts are aimed at Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. TPA, together with its members, will demonstrate that using pharmacists appropriately will result in savings to the overall healthcare system.

Recognition
It’s imperative to clearly state and declare in Texas legislation that pharmacists are healthcare providers. While this language does exist in the Texas legislation, the goal is to make it more prominent, and leave no doubt about the role pharmacists have on the healthcare team. Doing so will help set the stage for success in the other two areas TPA is addressing.

Better Utilization of Pharmacists as a Part of the Healthcare Team
 (Click on image to enlarge)
There are many opportunities for both pharmacists and consumers to benefit if Texas pharmacists’ better utilized. This includes providing them the ability to furnish medications to a patients under a statewide protocol. An example of this would be the strep throat swab test. Currently, this simple test is done by a kit, and if the test is positive, the physician writes a prescription for an antibiotic which the individual must then take to have filled by a pharmacist. It is well within pharmacists’ capabilities to conduct the swab test and furnish the antibiotic.

Payment for Services
In the current model, Medicaid does not cover pharmacists’ patient services, nor does private insurance. If TPA and its members are successful in lobbying the Texas Legislature for pharmacists patient services recognition and better utilization of pharmacists, then it follows that Medicaid will see value in pharmacists’ clinical services, and can be revised to reimburse pharmacists. Since Medicaid is a major player, it’s logical that private insurance companies will then model their payment structure to cover non-indigents.